


Für alle da

by Wahnsinn



Series: Rammstein one-shots [10]
Category: Rammstein
Genre: Friendship, Gen, light emotional hurt/comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:47:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26595481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wahnsinn/pseuds/Wahnsinn
Summary: Schneider worries about something. Flake takes him for a walk.
Relationships: Christian Lorenz | Flake & Christoph Schneider | Doom
Series: Rammstein one-shots [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1730041
Comments: 8
Kudos: 22





	Für alle da

**Author's Note:**

> The setting for this fiction is Sonoma, during the recording of Liebe ist für alle da. [This photo](https://i.imgur.com/6EDF0hN.jpg) was the main inspiration.

The computer screens flicker in the dim light. Long, slim fingers move across the keyboard, then onto the mouse. A click, and sound fills the room. Flake listens, then sighs. He taps the keys again and tries a different combination. It still doesn’t feel exactly right.

A shuffling behind him makes him turn his head. Schneider is holding two mugs of coffee. He puts one mug down on the desk next to Flake, then takes a seat on a chair behind him.

Flake smiles at his bandmate, then turns back to the computer. The two of them are the ones that handle most of the programming. Often, their suggestions get picked apart by the rest of the band, but there is something almost therapeutic about tinkering with details in front of the computer screens in between the power struggles and strong opinions that goes with a Rammstein studio session.

Another slight change, and Flake takes a sip of his coffee as he listens. It sounds better. While he always thinks the guitars sound the same, even though the guitarists have explained many times that they certainly don’t, the keyboard is different. There are so many effects, so many samples, and Flake doesn’t have to compete with another keyboardist. He is glad he is not a guitarist. If he was, he would probably be a bad one.

Flake runs the clip again, nodding in satisfaction. “Ja?” he says, turning to Schneider to see if he agrees.

Schneider has a vacant look on his face. It is one of those looks where he just stares into nothing and where you wonder what, or, if anything at all is happening inside his head. Flake glares at him. “Earth to Schneider.”

The switch is flipped and Schneider returns to earth. “Oh,” he says with an apologetic smile. “I was just lost in my own thoughts.” He brushes hair away from his face.

“I noticed,” Flake says dryly. He hits play again. Music streams out of the speakers. It sounds good this time around as well. Flake plays air-keyboard with his fingers. It _feels_ good, too.

“So?” he asks, turning to Schneider again.

The vacant stare is back. Flake rolls his eyes. “Schneider!” he says, sharply, and the drummer snaps back to reality.

“Sorry,” he mumbles. “I just…” Schneider sighs. His eyes drift off immediately. The man’s normal enthusiasm has been replaced with something else, something - sad?

Flake’s irritation changes into worry. He swivels around to face Schneider fully. The drummer sits slumped in the chair. His shoulder-long curls frame an unusually serious face. The normal spark in his eyes is not there. Schneider looks lost.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Flake asks, adjusting his glasses. He is not sure he wants to hear the answer as he figures he probably can’t do anything about it, but he feels compelled to ask anyway.

Schneider sighs again. He doesn’t look at Flake, he rubs at an invisible spot on the leg of his pants. “I - it’s nothing, really,” he says, and tries to smile it away.

Flake narrows his eyes. “You know you don’t have a poker face,” he says calmly, and reaches for his coffee mug.

Schneider huffs. “It’s stupid.”

Taking a sip from his coffee, Flake studies him. Schneider shifts in the chair, and his eyes move around, almost as if he is afraid someone should hear him. He looks uncomfortable.

Flake stands up, and puts the cup on the desk. “Come. Let’s take a walk.” Before Schneider can respond, Flake grabs his arm and pulls him up from the chair. The drummer looks surprised, but doesn’t resist. He puts his mug down a table, and follows Flake outside.

It’s a nice evening in Sonoma. The sun is setting, and there is a soft, blue light in the sky as they follow the road down from the rented estate. Flake quickly realises that he can’t keep up his normal pace. Schneider is lagging behind, kicking a rock in front of him as he walks, hands buried deep in his pockets. He is not on a different planet anymore, but he is still not fully present.

Slowing down, Flake lets Schneider catch up. They walk in silence for a while. Flake looks at the trees, the lake, the rows of grapevines. The valley is pretty. He enjoys walking around the area. It looks so different from Berlin.

Flake suddenly notices that Schneider is still not talking. For a moment, he feels bad. After all, he was the one who took him out for a walk. He just wanted to get him away from the house since it didn’t seem like he wanted to talk there. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe he should just have drunk his coffee and waited. Maybe Schneider didn’t really want to talk at all.

“You know I worry about everything. There isn’t much that is stupid to me,” Flake says, trying to restart their conversation. “Or maybe you guys think everything I worry about is stupid. It probably is. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is, no matter what you’re thinking about, I probably worry about the same thing. So I won’t think it’s stupid.”

Flake realises that he is rambling. He finds it ironic that after all this talk about worrying, he feels a pang of worry himself. Perhaps he said something wrong? He glances nervously at the drummer.

Schneider has a weird look on his face, but it is not empty this time. He is thinking. Suddenly, he starts giggling. “Oh Flake,” he chuckles, “you _are_ worrying about stupid things sometimes. Like toilets. Or getting sick.”

“Hey,” Flake replies, a little indignant. “Those are not stupid things. Remember what happened to Till when he peed behind those garbage bins in the US.”

“He didn’t even get arrested, he was just put in the police van!” Schneider objects.

“Still bad,” Flake frowns. “Plus, we have had to cancel shows because I got sick, or that time I got food poisoned. You know how bad we all felt about that. And last tour...”

The two of them fall silent. Cancelling shows is a sore point for everyone in the band. They often say someone has to be dead in order for them to cancel. It is not fully true, but a good description of how seriously they take it. Flake’s thoughts go to their last tour, when he injured Till with his segway. Eleven shows had to be cancelled. He swallows.

“Hey, stop thinking about it,” Schneider says.

Flake thinks about it a little more. He looks out at the valley. Orange and red blend in with the blue. He can see so far, it almost feels like he can see the end of the world. It had felt like the end of the world when he crashed into Till and they found out it was serious. But the world didn’t end, and here they are, in the USA, together again, and everything feels the same.

“I mean it.” Schneider looks at Flake. “Just enjoy this beautiful evening. Soon we will have a new album, and a new tour, and it’s going to be great. You can get cooked by Till again.”

“Another thing to worry about!” Flake exclaims, flailing his arms.

Schneider pats him on the shoulder. “I know, I know, you worry. But that’s just who you are, and it’s just another thing to love about you.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Flake says, a little uncomfortable from the sudden declaration of affection. How did the conversation end up being about him? He smiles awkwardly and lets out an even more awkward sound as he tries to come up with a good way to change topic.

Since he doesn’t find a good way, he just does it. “So will you tell me what’s bothering you?” he blurts out.

Schneider looks down. He spots a rock, and kicks it. “It _is_ really stupid,” he mumbles.

This time Flake doesn’t say anything. He just walks beside Schneider and waits. It’s getting darker. The sun is setting, and the trees are dark silhouettes against the sky.

“You know how Paul has his family here this weekend? Olli’s is coming over soon. You are happily married now, and Till and Richard both have children.” Schneider’s voice is quiet. “And then there is me...”

Schneider sighs. “I just feel lonely sometimes when I see you guys so happy with your families. I wonder if I’ll ever find love again - and if I will ever become a dad.”

Flake’s heart breaks.

“Of course you will find someone. You are handsome and kind. It is just a matter of time before you find the right person for you,” he says. He means it.

A glimmer of hope lights up in Schneider’s eyes. “You really think so?”

Flake nods. “You said it yourself - new album, new tour, and it’s going to be great. There will be lots of new people to meet, so who knows, maybe you will find a pretty woman at a concert? And judging from how you are with our children, you will be a great father as well. My kids love it when uncle Schneider comes around.”

The drummer smiles wearily. Flake is relieved to see his friend smiling. He smiles back. “And until you find Miss Right, you know you’ve got us. Bros before hos, or something.”

Schneider snorts, then he bursts out in laughter. “Jesus, Flake, are you trying to kill me,” he croaks while trying to breathe.

“It was not _that_ funny,” Flake huffs. 

It takes a while before Schneider manages to stop laughing. “Thanks,” he pants, wiping tears from his eyes.

“Anytime,” Flake says dryly. “And if you want to practice having children, you can borrow mine. We could use a babysitter now and then.”

Schneider grins. “Don’t push it. Before you know it, all your kids will get drums for Christmas from uncle Schneider.”

“Might be worth it,” Flake shrugs. “My hearing isn’t that good anymore.”

“What about your wife’s hearing?” Schneider looks smug.

“Oh. Right.”

They both laugh. It really is a beautiful night.

  


**Author's Note:**

> This was a tricky pairing for me. Though once I got this idea, I liked it so much that I had to write it. I hope you enjoyed it. Feedback is always appreciated. Thank you for reading.


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